Mercedes-Benz M-class (ML320, ML350, ML500 and ML55) 2005 and earlier

Comments

I have a suddenly very loud creaking noise under my ML 320 (2001, 80,000 miles). It has been regularly serviced and well maintained, except for a ding on the driver side). An independent service garage looked underneath and could find no problem (shocks are original and fine) no leaking, no cracks. But this creaking noise, which he thinks is the suspension and not to worry, gets quite loud. I have noticed it mostly when it is hot and is loudest at slower speeds and going over bumps. I just had it washed and now the sound is gone but it will return. Any thoughts of how to fix this? I also notice that when I put in park it sort of slides forward a bit before it is firmly in park (transmission?). Thanks for any advice

I have a 2003 ML 500. Just installed after market trailer hitch, and now can't find anyone to wire for trailer lights. MB no longer provides the wiring harness and suggested an after market solution. However, I can't find anyone in my small town who is willing to do the wiring without the MB harness. Any suggestions?

I have a 2000 ML-320. It has been a great car for the most part, but again I am having fuel gauge issues, and I am wondering if this is a common problem. I posted about this same issue in 2004, and seem to recall having the rig in to be fixed, but now don't remember the details.

The symptoms are that the fuel gauge is erratic. Soon after delivery (in Oct, 1999) I had the have the fuel sending unit replaced. I recall something about MTBE being the culprit. Then again issues in 2004, and now the same. Right after fill-up it sometimes shows full, but then quickly drops to 3/4, then quickly after that to empty, even though we know there is gas in the tank.

The dealer wants another $2000 to replace several items, but I am hoping someone here has another solution.

did u ever resolve or find root cause on the fuel gauge problem? i am finding an increasing frequency of problems with this vehicle . . . definitely NOT what i expected when i purchased the vehicle. my wife has been telling me that the fuel gauge is having the same symptoms u describe

btw - suggest u check the Service and Recall bulletins offered on edmunds.com

Ours is a 2000 ML320. A few weeks ago I noticed a slight ticking noise emiting from the dashboard. The rate is about 2 ticks per second, and remains steady at any engine speed. The tick is most prominent when stopped at idle and seems to go away as the car accellerates, but I think it just seems to go away as the engine noise simply overwhelms the ticking.

Today I noticed that the ticking stopped completely as I turned the heater control from the 7 o'clock position (max cool, where it has been most of the summer) to about the 10 o'clock position (still in the blue region). The stoppage at 10 o'clock is abrupt; at 9 and 9.5 it still ticks, then at 10 it fully stops.

In the last couple of weeks, my 2000 ML320 radio will not turn on. It seems to be without power as even the automatic faceplate tilting button is inop. At night I do see the small LED in the center of the on-off-volume knob.

When I pull the 25A fuse, then place it back in its socketand enter the radio code, and the unit works for a few days.

This morning the unit showed a new symptom; I had the radio on, but turning the on-off-volume knob had no effect.... it stayed at the prior volume setting and would not turn off when I pressed the knob. It did turn off when I turned off the car. I was able to change stations and bands this morning up until until things seemed to freeze, then, no controls worked but the current station continued to play. :confuse:

I know I should be doing it, but I am really inconvienced by taking it to a dealer 180 miles away. Most of my vehicles have been a piece of cake to drain and refill. The 2000 ML320 has a radiator drain that is impossible to reach, the block drains are invisible. Anyone have a clue how to do this? Do I have to pull the bottom radiator hose?

On my 2000 it's under the glove box in the passenger footwell. Undo the panel, & pull the old filter out. Note direction of the filter when replacing. Somewhat awkward to see the panel, but with a light & some contortions you will.

hello can some1 help me here I just got me a 2002 ML320 and the stereo was not working, all it says is enter code, i contact a dealer and they give me the code but when i put it in ....all it say is WAIT and nothing happens...

hello i just bought a 2002 ML320 but the stereo was not working, its asking for a code,I has contact a dealer and they give me a code but when i enter the code all it says is WAIT and nothing happens. i was told that i need a cd to reprogram the stereo, is this true? if it is where do i get this CD from? does any1 have this cd can u sell it to me?...what can i do to fix this problem im very exited with my new vehicle but with no sound system its not the same.....thanks.

I had what sounds like the same problem. Mine came up because I hadthree different Radio Code cards in my car, and I used the wrong one whenpowering up after the battery was disconnected for other service.

It seems that if one enters the wrong code more than once, then the radio enters some sort of algorithm that posts the word "WAIT" on the screen then spins off into Never Never Land. The spin can go from one hour up to 24 hours, then you will beprompted to enter your 5-digit code.

I found my own answer at www.whnet.com/4x4/shoptalk.html, which is the ML shop talk forum.

There, they describe the problem to be much as I was experiencing. They suggest "checking" fuse F10, which is a 10 A fuse. In addition to the 25 A fuse labled "Radio", fuse F10 is labled, "Radio, glove box light..."

In my case the F10 fuse looked ok, but I swapped it with a 10A spare. At first, this did not do the trick, but from the following day onward, the radio has worked perfectly.

So, the fix is to pull and reinsert the 25 A fuse (I forget the number but there is only one of these) and F10, one of the 10A fuses.

I am fast approaching the end of my factory warranty and was wondering if anyone here recommends purchasing of an extended warranty for a 2005 Mercedes Benz ML 350? I haven't had any major mechanical or electrical issues as of yet but I do know how expensive it is to repair MBZ's. The extended warranty is about $4000 for 100k miles of protection. Are there any major issues I need to worry about in the future or now? Any information will be useful, thank you!

Bump.......I know I should be doing it, but I am really inconvienced by taking it to a dealer 180 miles away. Most of my vehicles have been a piece of cake to drain and refill. The 2000 ML320 has a radiator drain that is impossible to reach, the block drains are invisible. Anyone have a clue how to do this? Do I have to pull the bottom radiator hose?

I had the same problem before all you need to do is turn your key to on position like if you are about to turn your car on and leave in this position for approx 15 minutes then it will clear (wait) you only have 3 trys to enter the right radio code if you do not enter the right code the radio will lock out again then you will need to repeat the same process again

In my opinion, the ML's offer lots of value for the money, but are not as trouble free as, say, a Lexus SUV.

What you get are: safety, handling, smooth powertrain, true off road capability, and lots of luxury features. Our ML320 gets over 20MPG, which is probably 20% better than other SUV's of similar size and weight. The chassis design contributes to a nice ride and also extends tire life (I think) since we just got 85,000 miles on a set of Michelin Cross Terrains. So, the ML does offer certain operational economies not found in lessor SUVs. Of course, the ML430 will suffer in the MPG department... do you really need the V8?

If you read through the 5000 posts you'll see a pattern of uncharacteristic faults which one would not expect from Mercedes. Our older MB sedan had a more of a hand-crafted feel than our later model ML (2000 ML320). But, our ML, now with 125K miles, has actually been fairly good: we have fixed the AC compressor, the driver's seat skirting is broken, the windshield fluid tank was replaced, the fuse box fan was replaced, we hear a clicking in the heating ducts (an actuator), the power window switch failed, one door lock actuator failed, the CD unit was replaced, and our radio is now flakey.

Balance the problems against the benefits, and the ML offers good value. Most posters comment that one should look at used ML's from 2000 up, but I'd guess that once the 98-99 models settled in they were ok too.